The spread of infection is rampant in Norwegian schools. The staffing situation is under pressure, and in an attempt to stop the infection introduced the government yellow level in primary and secondary schools, as well as red level in upper secondary school.
A solution to the problem can be the use of air filters and improving ventilation, says Jörn Klein, professor of microbiology, epidemiology and infection control at the University of Southeast Norway.
– Good ventilation, as simple as opening a door and window at the same time, would contribute to our children being exposed to less infection when they are at school, he says.
He is critical of the fact that FHI has not emphasized the importance of good ventilation before the end of the year, as they did in the past professional recommendation to the government in early December.
– If the government had invested resources to develop better ventilation and ventilation in public buildings, such as schools, I think we could have avoided many cases of infection in Norway, he says.
– Constant lump in the stomach
Invested in air filters
The WHO has repeatedly reiterated its advice on frequent ventilation and several countries have adopted the advice.
The German government invested more than NOK 5 billion in 2020 to improve ventilation systems in public buildings, including schools. It was described by then-Chancellor Angela Merkel as “the cheapest and most effective measures” to limit covid proliferation, according to The Guardian.
New York City has also conducted extensive ventilation surveys and distributed around 100,000 high-efficiency air purifiers, the newspaper writes.
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Can remove droplet infection
– Ventilation in this context means diluting indoor air with outdoor air. It is clear that super-spread tends to occur at low ventilation settings, for example on Christmas tables with omicron infection in Oslo. Ventilation is useful because potentially virus-laden air indoors is diluted by virus-free air from outdoors, says Klein.
For drip removal, filtration can supplement outdoor air ventilation if the right filters are used, Klein believes.
– Filters classified MERV (unit of measurement for air filters, editor’s note) 13 and higher can remove at least 80 percent of virus-filled droplets. However, not all air handling systems are designed to move air through these filters.
Have asked people to go home
– Not sufficient
– Small drops of coronavirus can stay suspended in the air and will concentrate over time in rooms with poor ventilation, which can contribute to increased risk of infection even over longer distances. Good ventilation is therefore important to prevent covid-19 infection. Similarly, air purifiers with a hepa filter will be able to help reduce the risk of infection indoors. However, how much is difficult to assess, as there are still not sufficiently good studies, says subject director Johan Øvrevik in NIPH and adds:
– Schools workplaces and other public buildings and commercial buildings, where many meet, should have adequate ventilation.
